Process for supplying artificially-ionized oxygen for ventilation or other purposes



Feb. 24, 1931. v F. E. HARTMAN 1,793,799

PROCESS FOR SUPPLYING ARTIFICIALLY IONIZED OXYGEN FOR VENTILATION OR OTHER PURPOSES Filed Aug. 2, 192,5 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4144 45 Z2 43 I 46 A r 43 22 29 I \23 37 AZ 23 O 110 234; 63 32 56 E 29- 36 3A E a 0 6i A ,.:Z7z e2z for W665 ,Z/"a/u z wcurdjnr/l/ea/q Feb. 24, 1931. F. E. HARTMAN 1,793,799

PROCESS FOR SUPPLYING ARTIFICIALLY IONIZED OXYGEN FOR VENTILATION OR OTHER PURPOSES Filed Aug. 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A Patented Feb. 24, 1931 STATES ATENT OFF-ICE FRANK EDWARD HARTMAN, F EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO FRED H. MONTGOMERY AND ONE-THIRD TO W. BAY MONTGOMERY, BOTH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS PROCESS FOR SUPPLYING ARTIFICLALLY-IONIZED OXYGEN FOR VENTILATION OB OTHER PURPOSES This invention relates to a novel process for supplying artificially ionized oxygen for venionized oxygen is produced y the rocess carried on by apparatus now genera employed in the production of ozone an thus to a limited extent has been delivered with w the ozone su plied for ventilating purposes. The value 0 ionized oxygen as an oxidizing agent, however, has not been heretofore recognized and the ionized oxygen produced with ozone and discharged throughventilators has been grounded and deionized long before its escape from the ventilator in its passage through the metal conduits or ducts connecting the ozone machine with theoutlet of the ventilator. r

I have found by experiment that the great amount of oxidation produced in the presence of ozone, heretofore ascribed to a catal tic action of ozone, has, in fact, been prouced by ionized oxygen. Again ionized oxygen has been found to be resent in relatively large quantities in out oor air, which is particularly wholesome and healthful to breathe, whereas such air has contained but a minimum of ozone. Ionized oxygen has whereas ozone is odori'ferous and is unpleasant to breathe. It is, therefore, manifestly desirable to deliver with the air used for ventilation purposes ionizedoxygen in large quantities, with as little ozone as possible The usual type of ozone generator might be used for producing air with a high ratio of ionized oxygen to ozone; but it would re;

uire an exceedingly large flow of air through t e field of electric discharge and as'the air space of such a field does not exceed a few millimeters, the resistance offered to a large air flow makes it necessary to employ high air.

pressures with resulting high operating costs. Again as moisture in the air results inthe formation of nitric acid upon the elements of the generator, it is necessary to dehydrate the air before it is passed through the generator, which adds to the expense of Opera- 4 tion.

the advantage that it is non-odorlferous,

A man filed. August 2,1926. Serial no. 126,784.

The object of the present invention/is to provide a novel process for treating air to produce ionized oxygen, roducing ozone at the same time, but pro ucing the ionized oxygen in relatively lar e ratio to the amount of ozone; Another ob ect of the. invention isto produce a process of the kind'which may be carried on at a minimum of expense and by apparatus'which may be small and compact.

Inorder more clearly to describe the'improved process I attach drawings showing an apparatus by which it may be carried out, no claim, however, being made herein to the apparatus itself, which is claimed in asepa rat-e application. r

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view representing a vertical central section through an apparatus or deviceadapted for carrying on my improved process of treating air for producing a maximum of ionized oxygen with a minimum of ozone.

Figure 2 is a view representing a side elevation of one of the ionizing tubes used in the apparatus. J

Figure 3 isaview representing on an enlarged scale a verticalcentral section through the ionizing tube. ,4

Figure 4 is a view representinga crBss-sectidn through said tube in a plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5'is a view representing a transverse section through the tube in a plane iiidicated by the line 5 -5 of Figure 3. V

Referring now to tliatembodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings- My improved ionizing apparatus or device inits preferred form includes a plurality of elongated glass tubes each mounted on an insulated base provided with a ferrule and center contact, to be inserted in a socket connected with electric conductors, somewhat in the manner ofthe' usual lam socket. 10 indicates said glass tube an 11' the base in which it is mounted. Thistube has a wall of substantially uniform cross section and is rounded at-its top and bottom'ends as indicated, respectively, at 12 and 13 (see Fig. 3). The mner surface of the tube is preferably (though not necessarily) provided with a metallic linin 14 which extends about the top end 12 an down towards the bottom end to cover substantially the greater part of the 5 length of the inner surface of the tube. Said this metal lining isindicated the drawings at 15. a a

The outer surface of the tube is covered down to the level of the bottom end 15 of the metal coating 14 by a perforate metal envelope-in this case a wire mesh or gauze 16. The glass wall of the tube provides a dielectric between the wire mesh 16 on the'olitside ofthe glass wall of the tube and'the metal linin 14 on the inside of said wall.

A er the wire mesh and the metal linin have been applied to the tube it is exhaust by connecting it to a vacuum ump of the mercury or other suitable ty e iy means of which it is evacuated to a igh degree of vacuum. It. is then sealed ofi at its top end as indicated at 12, the top end of the tube having, been left open to permit the ap lication of the inner metalhc lining 14. e-

fore sealing oil the bottom end of the tube a.

wire 18 is inserted thereinto and an electrode 18 of comparatively large area is applied throu h the bottom end of the tube to the end 0 said wire.

The base 11 is made of an insulation compound 19. A metallic ferrule 20 embraces the sides and the annular mar 'n of the bottom of said base as indicate at 21. The ferrule 20 is provided with four radialins 22 arranged at e ui-arcuate distances a ut its periphery and. 1s electrically connected by a wire 24 to the wire mesh 16. The wire 18 is carried down through the base to a central contact 23. Thus with the base inserted in a suitable socket connected to a suitable source of electric current, the path of the current will be from the wire 18 and the electrode 18, through the vacuum in the tube to the metallic lining 14, thence through the dielectric presented by the glass wall of the tube, to the wire mesh 16. I

25 indicates a casing or shell in which a -plurality,--in this case three,-of the tubes 10 are preferably enclosed (see Fig. 1) Said casing hasupright' side and end ways 26, 26, 27, 27, each or all of which are provided with louvre discharge openings 28, for the escape of the ionized oxygen. The casing25 is supported upon a suitable frame or shell 29, which shell, (for a purpose later to appear) is 45 made of aluminum or of-some other non-mframe 29.

other side of the secondary coil, which is messes netic material. Said ,base has a bottom wall;

31 indicates a step-up transformer, prefer f ably of thehigh reactance type, and 32 and 33 indicate, respectively, its primary or low tension coil and its secondary or high tension coil. Said transformer is suitably supported on the bottom wall 30 of the base shell or 34 indicates a plurality ofv taps taken off at different points along the winding of the primary coil 32 so as to vary the turn ratio and the-resulting potential set up in the secondary winding 33.- Said taps are connected with multiple switch 35, which is in circuit with electric conductors 36 led into the frame 29 through an extension plug 37 fitted to the upright side wall of the said frame in any convenient manner. 38 indi- I cates fusesinterposed in the conductors 36 be,- tween the plug 37 and the switch 35. One terminal of the secondary winding 33 is grounded by a wire 39 on, the bottom wall 30 of the base. i The other terminal is connected by a 'wire 40 to a bus-bar 41.

42 indicates an insulation shelf fixed in the frame 29 above the transformer 31.- On said" shelf'are fixed a plurality of insulation socket bases 43,one for each tub 10. Said bases- .are provided with bayonet slots 44 to receive the pins 22 on the ferrules 20 of the tubes, so as to lock said tubes in the bases 43 by a slight turn of the same. A wire 45 connects the pins 22 to the side wall of the frame 29 so as to ground said pins. The center contacts 23 of the tube 0, on the other hand, contact with the bus-b r 41. A second insulation shelf 46 provides a top for the frame 29,

: said shelf havin apertures 47 throu h which energized, a potential of 5,000 to 10,000 volts is set up in the secondary and delivered by the bus-bar 41 to the contacts 23 of the sev; eral ionizing tubes 10. The outer esh electrode16 of each of the tubes 10 is connected through its ferrule 20, pins 22 and the wire 45 to the frame 29 or groundand-thus to the grounded on said frame by the wire 39.

Electrons flow from the electrode 18" in the bottom of the tube 10 across the vacuum s ace separating itfrom the inner metallic lining 14 of the tube and are collected thereon. From thence they flow through-the glass dielectric, namely, the wall'of the tube 10. The metallic lining 14 reduces the electrical resistance to the passage of the electrons.

A discharge is thus set up between theinner metallic linin .14 and the-wires of thewire mesh electro e 16 which manifests itself as a corona discharge. This discharge is active in ionizing oxy en and producessome ozone. lnaddltlon, owever, many electrons no passing from the inner vacuum space are not collected by the wire mesh 16, but pass through the interstices therein and areshot off as migratin electronsinto space where they collide wit oxygen molecules and ionize them.

The gross electric potential impressed across the electrodes of the tubes 10 should be sufiicient to yield an effective potential of such magnitude as to give to the migrating electrons suliicient kinetic energy to permit I them readily to ionize oxygen, without causing such drastic molecular rearrangements as to induce an excessive formation of ozone. This effective potential is best determined through ascertaining, by experiment, the

ionizing to ozone-forming ratio and regulating the gross potential accordingly. The

gross potential required is determined by the resistance of the secondary circuit (thickness of the glass tube, degree of vacuum, etc.) plus the effective potential.

The advantages of my improved process in the production of ionized oxygen over that ordinarily used for ozone production lies in the fact that the electrotonic discharge is through a solid dielectric (glass) so that there can be'no deposition of vapors or solids from the air. On the contrary, there is at all time a so-called electric breeze emanating from the tube in the escape of electrons into space, which will actually dislodge such dust or vapor as may have settled or condensed on the tube when not energized and positively prevent such settlement, condensation or deposition when in operation. This eliminates the necessity for using only clean, dry air. And as there is a com lete absence of sparking discharges, no oxi es of nitrogen are formed.

I claim as my invention:

The process of treating air to produce ionized oxygen and ozone, with the ionized oxygen in relatively large ratio to the ozone,

' which consists in producing an electrotonic discharge as by means of a valve tube, the

glass wall of which'tube serves as a dielectric, to induce a uni-directional corona discharge on or about the valve tube, said electrotonic discharge being produced under a potential sufficient to continue it into the free air in excess of and beyond the field of said corona discharge.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I afiix my signature this 29th day of July, A. D. 1926.

FRA

NK EDWARD HARTMAN. 

